1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to demolition tools and more particularly, to a versatile one-piece decking and plank removal tool of simple, inexpensive and extremely rugged construction for efficiently prying floor-boards from deck foundations and floor-joists to which they are nailed.
2. Description of the Background
Outdoor decks comprise a series of deck boards nailed side-by-side atop a foundation of deck joists. The deck boards are attached to the joist by long (3″) nails which have been driven through the boards into the joists. From time to time it is necessary to replace some or all of the deck boards which deteriorate, and, after several re-decking cycles, the entire deck structure itself. This entails removing the deck rails and prying up the nailed-down deck boards. Most weekend warriors use a crowbar to pry up the deck boards. The flat blade of the crowbar slides down between deck boards and the user levers each board off the foundation. Unfortunately crow bars have a small and narrow blade, and require gradual working from one end of the deck board toward the other. This can take hours and, if for that reason alone, is entirely unsuitable for demolition professionals.
There are a variety of specially-designed deck board removal tools, but most are simply longer or more robust pry bars or wrecking bars. Like crowbars, such tools are long levers which multiply the force applied to the tool handle in order to lever each board off the foundation. There are a number of disadvantages inherent in these designs.
A main disadvantage with pry bars and crowbars is that they are too small, short and fragile, leaving users unable to generate the leverage necessary for the prying operation. Users often resort to pounding the pry bars with a sledgehammer which is a dangerous proposition at best. Moreover, inadequate pry bars are prone to breakage.
Another glaring disadvantage of pry bars and crowbars is that each deck board to be removed requires a fixed adjacent board for leverage. The pry bar must be driven between the deck boards in order to begin the prying operation. Then during the prying operation the deck board being removed tends to butt against the adjacent board, finding reinforcement and requiring more effort on the part of the worker. Also, the wood decking compresses so much due to these non-ideal mechanics and often weathered condition so as to make the crowbar wholly ineffective as it completes its range of motion, sometimes before even a single nail has been dislodged. The net result is a more difficult and time-consuming job, and undue damage to the joists and the deck boards being removed.
Another disadvantage of conventional pry bars is that they frequently do not provide a removal force directly along the axis of the nails during the prying operation, and then transfer all of the force directly to the next fastener in sequence as each fastener fails. Trying to pull the deck boards against the nails causes the deck boards to shatter. Moreover, most pry bars do not provide sufficient leverage during the prying operation to fully dislodge the nails from the foundation. Consequently, a user must pry the board partially loose, then reinsert the pry bar, then pry again, three or four iterations, all of which consumes time, and is less than ideal.
Moreover nearly all other specialty decking removal devices require the handle to travel toward and sometimes over the section of decking that has already been removed. This requires the user's body to be in a perilous place or requires the user to propel their mass towards the areas with removed flooring. There is a need for a decking and plank removal device that allows the user to operate exclusively from the still decked section and allow the user to utilize a pulling motion towards the same. This procedure substantially reduces the hazard exposure to the user and will simplify and expedite the removal of deck boards while minimizing damage to both the deck boards and the joists to which they are attached.
Another disadvantage of most other methods is the requirement to spend a substantial amount of the actual demolition operation from the exposed joists. This presents self-evident hazards as the joists are basically a row of balance beams with protruding rusty nail heads, as a percentage of the nails remain embedded in joists after the deck surface board is torn off.